THE COLONIST. Published Daily—Morning. Nelson, Monday, Sept. 11, 1905. SUMMARY NOTES.

Colonist, Volume XLVII, Issue 11432, 11 September 1905, Page 2

THE COLONIST. Published Daily — Morning. Nelson, Monday, Sept. 11, 1905. SUMMARY NOTES.

~— — — i An unusually wet winter and earlj spring have had the effect of checking agricultural operations in some parts of this district, and it is anticipated that there will be loss in consequence. The pasturo lands, however, with the soaking they have had, should provide plenty of feed. The earlier blossoming fruit trees are now worth seeing, but it is too early to form an opinion as to crops. From the reports concerning the yield of hops in England it appear as though growers will have to look to Australia for a market for all that may not be consumed in New Zealand— unless markets can be opened in the East. The work of Parliament has been kept going since the publication of ourlasfc Summary number, but there has been no great achievement. "That voucher" has occupied a great deal of time, and has cost a pretty penny. The enquiry held by the Auditor General failed to discover the alleged voucher, and proved that no payment had been made, but the four Christchurch Post Office olerks still affirm that they saw what purported to be a voucher, and that has led to the suspicion that someone filled in a form, and put signatures to it with the intention of misleading. Amongst the subjects that have occupied the attention of Parliament, we may mention the Electoral Bill, a measure to enable dwellings for workers to be provided in or adjacent*! to the larger cities, and the report of the Land Commission, together with the proposals thereon. The Premier elected to leave the land question an open one, but apparently the Leader of the Opposition was disappointed that his amendments were not accepted as no-confidence proposals. On the land question there is great diversity of opinion ; Mr Massey wants holders of leases in perpetuity to be given the right to purchase the freehold, others think that a lease for 999 years is too long a period, while others again contend that the freehold should not be parted with. A motion to set up an enquiry to discover where the capital of the Colonial Bank went was talked out for the occasion. The raising of a question of privilege in connection with letters from the Rev. Dr.Gibb, intimating that it was intended to expose the alleged inconsistencies of two members on the question of religious instruction in schools, also aroused some excitement. It is extremely likely that many of the Bills introduced this session will be dropped , for members will shortly be anxious to get back to their constituents in order to woo them before the general election, especially as there are a good many candidates entering the field. Eeference is made in the Summary supplement to the operations being carried on In Aniseed Valley. The low level drive is being continued with results which those interested consider highly satisfactory. a large body of copper ore haa now been proved, and the completion of the works now in band should enable reliable calculations to be made as to the proved quantity of ore. The. Puponga coal mine is now well established, though doubtless the*oatput will be considerably extended. Operations have been recommenced at Pakawau, and what is described as a likely venture entered upon at Motupipi. Now that the Parapara lease has been taken up the conditions as to working will need to be observed, so that we may expect to see operationsjn hand during the summer. Preparations are now well forward for the Agricultural and Pastoral Show, and there are indications that the advancement this year will be greater than usual. In reference to pastoral matters it is worthy of notice that Messrs Hunt, the well known local sheep breeders, have lately been called upon to ahip Shropshire rams to Australia. The centenary of Trafalgar is to be fittingly observed in Nelson. In the forenoon his Excellency the Gover- 1 I nor is to lay the foundation stone of ' the new College buildings, and the I Premier^will also be present if pos- < sible. ' The next anniversary of the Nelson 3 settlement is to be celebrated by a * week's carnival, and a pleasant time ' should be in store for those who are ' here at the end of January and be- J ginning of February next. The Australian football team -recently visited Nelson, and they played here against a combined team j representing Nelson, Marlborough, i the Buller, and West Coast, and suffered a defeat, the score being 12 B teo 3. Since then the College football team has visited Christchurch, and. I playing against the High School was victorious by 25 points to 8. g In the latter part of last month

earth tremors were reported from South Australia, and about the same time there were similar experiences at Wanagnui and Feilding, and a few days later at-Dunedin. There has been considerable activity in the thermal district around Kotorua,aud a now geyser has been playing in the vuinity of the township. „.,<..: At the Sydney wool sales'valuea have been maintained, and in view of the price of cotton there is reason to hope that prices will keep up. Several of the New Zealand Chambers of Commerce are supporting a proposal that efforts should be made to secure markets in Japan and the East for colonial produce, and if anything is to be done now is the time for action. i __^_ 1 The news that peace had been ar- j ranged was received with satisfaction, and it is to be hoped that the new Anglo- Japanese treaty will help to ensure peace or many years. Considerable work is being done in preparation for the Christchurch International Exhibition, to be held next year, and already it promises to be a great success. During a reuent visit to the Kermadec Island H.M.S Prometheus sustained some damage through touching on a reef. The Wellington-Manawatu Kailway Company recently declared a three pev cent dividend for the half year. By the death of Dean Horell, of Napier, whitlh occurred suddenly, the chulch has lost'an able man, and one who was widely respected throughout New Zealand. Towards the end of last month a cyclonic disturbance was experienced in New South Wales, when timely warning was given to shipping crossing the Tasman Sen, and not without cause. A few days later a schooner foundered Newastle, N.S.W., and her crew of six met with a watery grave, while two other vessels have since suffered. Steamers have reported bad weather"', but on this side we have not fared so badly. From Victoria, as well as New South Wales, we have received reports of gales and cold weather, snow having fallen in places where it had not previously been seen.